After the Credits Roll
by DesertOrchid7485
Summary: What happens after Nick gets Gracie and co out of the lab? This is my take on what could have transpired. Tag to Organ Grinder. AU from canon, be warned. Nick whump. Nick/Renard


**Title: **After the Credits Roll

**Summary: **What happens after Nick gets Gracie and co out of the lab? This is my take on what could have transpired. Tag to Organ Grinder. AU from canon, be warned. Nick whump. Nick/Renard

**Spoilers: **Takes place after Organ Grinder ends.

**Pairing: **Established Nick/Renard

**Characters: **Nick, Renard, Hank, brief appearance by Monroe

**Author's Note: **I was watching Organ Grinder and I thought Nick's hand injury needed a bit more exploiting so I thought I would do that. :-D

**2: **This fic has not been beta'd so any mistakes are mine.

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Nick watched Gracie get wheeled out of the poor excuse for a lab and into the waiting ambulance. He had a smile on his face that belied the pain he was currently experiencing in his hand. Blood was steadily seeping through the makeshift bandage he had wrapped around it and the pulsing throb that emanated from it made him cradle the hand close to his chest to prevent it from moving.

"Hey, you okay?" Hank asked, bringing Nick's focus from his hurting hand to his partner and friend. Deep brown eye were moving from Nick's face to his bandaged hand and back again, letting Nick know what he was talking about.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Nick replied, his tendency to lie while soothing coming to the fore. When Hank offered him a 'not buying it' look, he smiled and tried again, "I probably should visit the ER but I'll be okay. Satisfied?"

Hank smiled, silently saying that he was, then began to usher Nick over to one of the few ambulances who didn't have a bus full of people. Some of the rescued kids were able to walk to the vehicles so they'd been allowed to sit on the bench inside the ambulance; but there were a few that were too sick to so they had been left in the beds.

"What can I do for you gentleman?" one of the EMT's asked as they approached.

"My partner cut his hand pretty good," Hank informed before Nick had had a chance, "It looks like it might need stitches."

"Okay, let's see what we've got," they said. They stepped forward and gently took Nick's guarded hand into theirs to examine it. He winced when the bandaging scratched against the open edges of the ragged wounds but he held still so the EMT could do their job.

"Well, I'm sorry to say Detective that your partner's right," the EMT announced, quickly applying a fresh bandage to Nick's hand. "Your hand's gonna need to get sewn up." They looked at Hank as though Nick didn't have a say in what was being discussed, "Did you want to take him to the ER or did you want him to ride with us?"

"I can take him."

"Uh, don't I get a say in this?" Nick offered with a smile that had nothing to do with happiness.

"Well you wanted me to take you in right?" Hank returned unphased by his slight annoyance.

"Well, yeah but that's not the point-"

"-then what are you whinin' for? Get in the car." Hank said, his voice overlapping with Nick's when he started talking just as Nick did. He walked away before Nick had even figured out what he'd said and started heading towards the Charger that they arrived in.

"Hey, make sure to keep your hand elevated," the EMT called just as Nick started following his partner. The Grimm waved said hand in the air in acknowledgement, grimacing when the action cranked up the pain a bit. Yeah, gotta remember not to do that any time soon.

"Nick!" Captain Sean Renard called, quickly getting his attention.

"Captain," Nick greeted, stopping in his tracks so that the older and taller man could catch up.

"I've been told that you're being taken to the emergency room. Are you alright?"

Nick smiled at the genuine concern in his boss' voice. Granted, his boss also happened to be his friend, his lover and his mate (a title Nick's grown to accept) but he was his boss first and foremost while on the job.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just cut my hand is all," he assured, showing the hand off in a small wave.

"Geiers?" Sean asked, keeping his voice low in case he should be overheard.

"Yeah, I tried to keep one from falling into the fire pit," he motioned with his head in the pit's direction, "but she lost her footing and her claws got my palm."

Sean nodded that he'd heard then lowered his voice even further. "Will you go home when you're finished or to the trailer?"

Again, Nick smiled, "I'll probably go home and leave the trailer for the morning, or evening since I have to work in the morning."

"Are you sure you'll be allowed to return to work in the morning?" Sean parried with a look that was half teasing, half serious.

"Providing my boss lets me, I should be able to."

Sean smiled ever so slightly, appreciating Nick's small attempt at flirting, "I'll keep you informed."

"Nick, you comin'?" Hank called too far away to see that Nick was talking to their boss.

"Yeah Hank, I'm comin'!" Nick yelled back, briefly turning his attention away from his lover. When he turned back around, he had a smile on his face, simply offering, "Ditto," before he turned around and walked away, leaving Sean to finish handling things on his own.

* * *

When Nick returned to the house that he and Juliette had once shared, the night was slowly turning into day and the morning birds were starting to sing. It annoyed him beyond mention just how long it had taken him to not only be seen at the ER but then attended to and released. He could make a small allowance for the fact that it had been past one in the morning when he'd arrived and it seemed to have been a bad night for all drunks as well but still, it didn't help very much.

He walked in through the front door, placing his keys on the hook that he'd hung beside the door and tossing his badge and gun onto the small table right under the key hook. A creak of one of the floorboards in the living room echoed through the house and Nick froze. It was only when the bond he had with Sean began humming jovially that he realized who it was in his house.

A very rumpled and sleepy looking Sean walked into the foyer. His beautiful green eyes were bleary from being closed for so long and unfocused. His impeccable suit was crumpled and only tucked in on one side, and his tie was loosened and off-center.

"You are just now getting home?" he inquired, his voice groggy and gruff.

"Yeah, stupid emergency rooms," Nick growled, his annoyance springing up once again. He trampled down on it when he felt the bond begin to respond to his anger.

"How's your hand?"

"Better. They numbed it before they started sewing and that hasn't quite worn off yet," Nick replied, plastering on a smile that he knew he'd feel eventually. He thrust the hand forward then patiently waited for the coinciding inspection to be finished. Sean's hands were gentle as they fingered the bandage, testing how well it had been wrapped before they moved to the stitched palm.

He walked forward and wrapped his arms around Sean's waist. Sean returned the gesture, pulling Nick's smaller form towards him and swallowing him. Strong hands began to work the tense muscles in his back and Nick felt himself turn to a pile of mush under the careful ministrations.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs," Sean's voice whispered in his ear.

"Sounds good," Nick replied with much more meaning behind the words than what he could actually perform.

"Not tonight, or today as it were," Sean corrected with a smirk in his voice. "Unlike you, I have to go to work today."

"I don't have to stay home today, you know," Nick replied, doing his best to hide a yawn.

"Yes, you do; at least for one day. You were injured while on duty and you have just gotten home at a quarter to seven in the morning," Sean laid out flatly. "You will be staying home and getting some rest. Tomorrow, if you feel adamant about returning, you may come back."

"Alright, fine," Nick conceded, holding up his hands in surrender. "But you can tell Hank that I won't be there. I'm going to bed."

Sean raised his head in a defiant gesture that spoke of his years of regal training. Nick knew he wasn't used to being given orders, preferring to be the one doing the ordering, but he also knew that he would do it if for no other reason than it was his job as Captain.

"Sleep well my Grimm," he bid with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Nick waved his good night behind him, a huge yawn occupying his mouth. He heard the front door open and close behind him just as he'd reached his bedroom. Even though he wasn't that badly injured, Nick wished that Sean would have been able to stay home with him; the bed always seemed more comfortable with the Regnant in it.

Still, Nick was man enough not to express his desire knowing that his mate needed to go to work so he crawled into bed by himself, knowing that it wasn't just being Captain of the Portland Police that Sean had to worry about. Nick knew that he had a canton to guard and family to deal with.

Regnants weren't known for their pack instincts; in fact, they were mostly loners. They traveled to a place and, once they claimed it as theirs that was where they resided for the rest of their days. From then on, that place was theirs to protect and defend and anyone who came into the canton uninvited and unwanted, no matter if it was family or not, would be dealt with accordingly.

Nick hated that Sean had to take this view of those he called family. While it was normal behavior to be defensive of a canton, Sean was even more so protective of it for one reason – Nick. Now that he and Sean were mated, the Regnant viewed any violator as a threat to Nick. There were, of course, provisions to this volatile behavior; Sean usually overlooked the lesser breeds of Wesen, the ones that weren't a threat to anyone but possibly themselves.

It was when the more violent Blutbadden, Lowens, Reapers, Skalengecks, etc that Sean practically pounced on the minute he learned of their existence. Always the politician, Sean would first try talking to the Wesen to try and determine their reasoning for entering his canton. Very few came right out and said that they were after Nick because they valued their lives but there were some that were arrogant enough not to recognize who Sean was and paid dearly for their stupidity.

Sean would never tell Nick when something like that had happened but the Grimm could always tell. He could feel the violence pulling on their bond, filling him with the same feelings. It aggravated Nick that Sean always went out to try and protect him. Inexperienced though he was, Nick _was _getting better in his role as a Grimm; he was no weakling that needed their master to defend him.

One night after Sean's latest escapade, Nick had finally demanded that Sean let him deal with his own battles. The Regnant had tried to placate him using his position of power and his knowledge of politics to justify his actions but Nick wasn't having it. This was non-negotiable. It took a while but eventually, Sean backed off his threats and allowed Nick more leeway to deal with the Wesen as he (and the law) saw fit.

Nick yawned widely, allowing exhaustion brought on by busy nights and pain to carry him off to another world. A world where Wesen didn't exist, a world where there were no Grimms and no Reapers and a world where he and Sean were just two men who could love each other without strings attached. Nick dreamed of that world, wanting to live in that one instead because sometimes the real world sucked.

_~fin~_

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**There it is, my little one-shot. What'd you think? Click that itty, bitty, little, inconspicuous review button to let me know. ;) **


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